Catch Me If I Fall: Caught
by white rose01
Summary: The race against time that the nightshift faced when one of their own was taken has been won. But were they in time? Second ending to Catch Me If I Fall.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, it's all the property of CBS and Anthony Zuiker_

AN: Well, here it is (finally)! The first chapter of the alternate ending. Again I can only apologise for the length of time that it has taken for this chapter to materialise, whoever said that university students had a lot of free time lied! Hopefully now the second semester has started and I'm doing one less module, I should have more time to write. Thanks to everyone who is still following the story, and if anyone still wants the first how ever many chapters it is, please email me and ask for it and I shall send you a copy. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, reviews are gratefully received!

Catch Me If I Fall: Caught

Nick heaved a sigh of relief as the paramedics burst through the door.

"Look, Greg, they're here! Hold on, you have to hold on!"

When Greg made no response, Nick looked down and was horrified to find Greg's eyes closed and his mouth slack.

"Greg? Greg!" cried Nick.

But there was no reply. The paramedics rushed over, and immediately began working on him. They attached wires to his chest, put a tube down his throat, and started numerous IV lines.

"Sir, please, you need to let him go." One of them said to Nick.

Nick reluctantly relinquished his hold on the unmoving figure, worry etched onto his face.

The paramedics were still working furiously on Greg, sticking needles and tubes into him, pumping on an air bag, desperately trying to keep him alive despite all the odds.

And the odds were stacked against them. You didn't have to be a statistician or a gambler to work that one out. Greg had been tortured and then left to die; it was only through pure strength of will that he had held on for as long as he had.

The room was silent apart from the occasional mutterings from the paramedics and the rustle of plastic as they unwrapped what they needed. Nick could feel tears staining his cheeks and on looking round, saw that he wasn't the only one. Even the Grissom, who kept his emotions closely guarded, had tears in his eyes as he watched the paramedics desperately trying to save his lab tech. One part of his brain was begging Greg to hold on, at the paramedics to help him, but another part, the scientific part, was telling him that there was no way in hell that Greg should still be alive.

As if proving science wrong, the paramedics started to carefully load Greg onto a stretcher, ever mindful of the horrific injuries that their patient had. As soon as he was strapped down, they immediately rushed him out of the room, trailed by the CSI team and Brass.

"We're going to take him to Desert Springs, as that's closest." The paramedic told the team over his shoulder, "I'm afraid I cant let any of you ride with him, as we're going to need all the room we can get so that we can work on him. He's stable for the minute, but I don't think I have to impress on you how serious and life threatening his injuries are."

The CSIs nodded grimly. They knew only too well how bad Greg's injuries were, most of the corpses that they were forced to deal with on a daily basis were less mutilated. Not only that, they had seen Smiths work before and knew what he was capable of inflicting on his victims. More than one of the CSIs silently cursed Jamie Smith, and knew that it wouldn't be for the last time.

As Greg was loaded into the ambulance and driven away, sirens blaring, the CSIs looked at each other for a moment, unable to completely comprehend what had, and was still, taking place.

"God," murmured Catherine, more in shock than prayer.

This seemed to break the spell, and Brass immediately took control, giving orders to police personnel left, right and centre, all the while pushing the CSI team towards their cars.

"Right, Grissom, you drive one car, I'll take the other."

Grissom made no protest at this, aware that although none of them were really in a fit state to drive, Brass and himself were probably the best for the job. He cast a worried eye over Nick as he got into the car, knowing that the younger CSI blamed himself for what had happened. He also knew that nothing would change that unless Greg himself could tell Nick that he wasn't to blame. Grissom sighed as started the engine, put on the siren and pulled out of the car park, closely followed by Brass.

The ride there was silent apart from the wailing of the siren, everyone lost in their own thoughts, the mood strained and worried. As they turned in at the hospital Nick broke the silence.

"W-what if he…" he started brokenly.

Warrick immediately cut him off.

"Uh-uh man, don't be going there. He's lasted this long, so he's fighting," he said, with more conviction than he felt.

Nick merely nodded, not completely convinced by Warricks words, but willing to gain some reassurance from them.

As Grissom and Brass pulled up outside the hospital, the team members quickly jumped out and raced into the hospital entrance, Nick and Warrick at the front.

"Can I help you?" a frazzled looking nurse asked.

"We're with the crime lab, here about Greg Sanders?" Warrick half told, half questioned her.

The nurse's face immediately sobered, and she nodded.

"Right, well he's still in the trauma room and the doctors are still working on him. If you want to take a seat, I'll see that someone comes and gives you more information as it becomes available."

The assembled group nodded, moved over to the chairs, and settled in to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it's all the property of CBS and Anthony Zuiker

_AN: A thousand and one apologies for the length of time it has taken me to update this, uni took a crazy turn, and now almost a year on, I'm back in the first year on a different degree… Thanks to everyone who is still following the story, and if anyone still wants the first how ever many chapters it is, please email me and ask for it and I shall send you a copy. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, reviews are gratefully received!_

Nick stood in front of the door to Greg's room, wondering if there was any way to escape from this waking nightmare. He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally running through the list of injuries that they now knew Greg had. Cut tendons. Burns. Trauma. Bruising. Cuts. And worst of all, evidence that Greg had been raped. Nick felt the nausea rise up in him again, and he urgently sucked in some deep breaths, forcing himself not to react. After the doctor had broken the news to the CSIs, Nick hadn't been the only one running for the bathroom. He was pretty sure that most of them were still in shock, even though they knew that people were capable of anything, it was a horrific shock when it happened to one of their own.

Nick forced himself to concentrate and braced himself, knowing that what awaited him inside the hospital room would not be pretty. He took a deep breath before opening the door and walking in.

The sight that greeted him was even worse than he imagined. Greg was hooked up to countless machines and covered in scrapes and bandages. He looked unspeakably young, but at the same time, there were signs of age, signs that had amassed suddenly and ones that had no right of being on Greg's face.

"Oh Greg," sighed Nick, the guilt surging up as he looked at the figure in the bed.

The doctor had told them that Greg was heavily sedated, but it didn't stop Nick walking over to the bed, picking up Greg's hand, and speaking gently to him.

"Hey, Greg, it's me…you're safe now, Smith is dead, he can't hurt you now," he felt tears well in his eyes but continued to talk, albeit brokenly. "I'm sorry, Greg, but you're safe now. You're safe."

From Greg there was no response, he lay there still and silent. Nicks only reply was the steady beating of the machine measuring Greg's heart rate.

Nick sighed and sat down, only to jump to his feet as an experienced looking nurse walked into the room.

"Hi, I'm Laura Jameson, forensic nurse. I'm here to process Mr Sanders?"

Nick nodded silently, having the forensic nurse there in front of him seemed to make Gregs status as the victim all the more obvious. Realising the nurse was still waiting for a vocal reply Nick cleared his throat.

"Hi, sorry, I'm Nick Stokes, with the crime lab."

It was the nurses turn to nod, as she pulled on a pair of gloves and turned to look at Greg.

"Right, let's get started then," she said and walked over to the bed.

As she processed, Nick found himself living through one of the most painful half hours of his life. Sure, he'd heard the verbal report from the doctor, but it was in no way similar to actually seeing the results of the torture that had been inflicted on Greg. He was grateful that the nurse was both efficient and gentle, as this made it somewhat easier. Nick was also impressed by the way that she talked quietly to Greg, despite Greg being unconscious.

"Mr Stokes? The next part of my exam is for the rape kit…I was told that you knew Mr Sanders so if you wanted to step out for this bit I'd understand."

When Nick shook his head, Nurse Jameson merely nodded like she'd been expecting his answer.

"In that case, if you could stay on that side and talk to him for me, maybe even hold his hand…that's great, thanks."

As she started processing, Nick cautiously picked up Greg's hand, being mindful of the bandages and IV lines, wondering what the hell he could talk about.

The nurse seemed to understand his dilemma, and advised him to talk about what came naturally - people they both knew, maybe work, even sports if he felt like it.

"Hey Greg…uhh you haven't missed much in football, the Giants won their last game…umm, Hodges is in everyone's good books at the lab 'cos he told Ecklie where to stuff it…Archie misses you, I think he's going to make you go over to his and play video games and watch Star Trek…Catherine's threatening to throw you a welcome back party, so that should be…Greg? Greg! I think he's crying! Is that normal? I thought he was unconscious!"

Nurse Jameson paused and looked at Nick with sad eyes.

"One thing that this job has taught me is that people are capable of anything. Another is that you don't have to be awake to cry."

Nick swallowed hard, the lump in his throat threatening to overwhelm him. He gripped Greg's hands as tightly as he felt he could and whispered words of comfort, feeling completely helpless while he did so.

Tears continued to leak from Greg's eyes throughout the whole of the exam, and even once the nurse had finished and taken her findings to be logged in.

Desperate, Nick tried drawing on other topics, on gently wiping the tears away from Greg's eyes; he even contemplated singing to him.

But no matter what Nick tried, Greg wouldn't stop crying.


End file.
